Following is a transcript of the interview with President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan by Philip P. Pan, the Washington Post's Beijing bureau chief, and David E. Hoffman, foreign editor. The interview was conducted at the presidential palace in Taipei on March 29, 2004, with a government translator.

I think the fundamental reason why I won ... is because there is a rising Taiwan identity and it has been solidified. I think the Beijing authorities should take heed of this fact and accept the reality.

I have observed a very interesting phenomenon. The Beijing authorities refuse to recognize the existence of the Republic of China. However, they dread that we may one day change our name. I see a great inconsistency in this phenomenon.

What's in a name, really?

The failure of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong has contributed to the rise of Taiwan identity and the rise of Taiwan awareness.

As I have said, solidifying and deepening Taiwan's democracy is our best Theater Missile Defense.

The day before the election, I trod the fine line of death. And that had a great impact on my life philosophy and my attitude toward my political career.

A shot in the arm, a shot in the gut -- what's twelve inches between friends?

Maryland legislators are moving to address a serious defect in the touch-screen voting machines that the state has been introducing over the last several elections. The problem, pointed out by experts studying the system, is that glitches in the machines' programming could be difficult to detect.

Before Maryland proceeds to install its complete new system, legislators should insist on the fundamental safeguards called for in this legislation.

Want to get out the youth vote? Why not offer online voting through the Playstation 2?

"Florida now has 'the very best' technology available," Florida's secretary of state declared on CNN. Hours later, results in Bay County showed that with more than 60 percent of precincts reporting, Richard Gephardt, who long before had pulled out of the presidential race, was beating John Kerry by two to one.

There were, no doubt, other mishaps that did not come to light because of the stunning lack of transparency around voting in the state. When a Times editorial writer dropped in on one Palm Beach precinct where there were reports of malfunctioning machines, county officials called the police to remove him.